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A Reckoning In East Chicago Over Lead In The Soil

By
Morning Shift

Sept. 12, 2016, 1:47 PM UTC

Shantel Allen, right, a resident of the West Calumet Housing Complex reacts with her husband, Charles during a news conference on Aug. 30, 2016 in Munster, Ind. The Environmental Protection Agency has detected high levels of lead in samples of dust and dirt tracked inside homes where soil is tainted with industrial contaminants. The contamination has resulted in the city calling for the demolition of the low-income complex and relocating its 1,000 residents.Tae-Gyun Kim / Associated Press

Shantel Allen, right, a resident of the West Calumet Housing Complex reacts with her husband, Charles during a news conference on Aug. 30, 2016 in Munster, Ind. The Environmental Protection Agency has detected high levels of lead in samples of dust and dirt tracked inside homes where soil is tainted with industrial contaminants. The contamination has resulted in the city calling for the demolition of the low-income complex and relocating its 1,000 residents.Tae-Gyun Kim / Associated Press

A Reckoning In East Chicago Over Lead In The Soil

By
Morning Shift

Sept. 12, 2016, 1:47 PM UTC

Eleven hundred residents of a public housing complex in East Chicago, Indiana are being forced to move because soil surrounding their homes is contaminated with lead. Some of the residents have lived in the West Calumet complex for decades. There’s fear among some of those moving, with the city providing little answers. Some also say the city could have handled the issue better since the lead issue is not a new one. In fact, it’s been around for years and years.

Morning Shift talks to WBEZ’s Michael Puente, who’s been covering the issue, and Thomas Frank, an activist with Calumet Lives Matter, a group formed to assist residents of the town.